Great contact for fixing roof 'bulge' as a result of canvas getting trapped

philosan · Oct 7, 2015

Hi, I would expect that I am not the only one who has had this 'accident' and left with what appears to be a 'massive' bulge in the side of the Cali roof - despite the bunjee. In reality the bulge isn't that big but when you realise that it is all down to your own complacency and negligence it gets bigger every time you look at it. Anyway, if you live in the East Midlands, or even if you don't, we had ours repaired by a PDR (Paintless Dent Removal) specialist who is based in Loughborough. Within 30 minutes he had returned the roof to its original shape. All for less than £50 ! His name is Andy - www.andysdentrepairs.co.uk - 07805720223. Being fellow Cali owners you can probably appreciate how relieved we are to have our 6 month old van back to its original condition at a fraction of what we thought it would cost.
Phil & Sandra

Alan · Oct 7, 2015

Fantastic news :bananadance

blondebier · Oct 7, 2015

I don't suppose you have a before and after pic do you?

I can't quite picture what went wrong here.

Was it just unfortunate or could other people suffer the same fate if not careful?

Hotel California · Oct 7, 2015

blondebier said:
I don't suppose you have a before and after pic do you?

I can't quite picture what went wrong here.

Was it just unfortunate or could other people suffer the same fate if not careful?

If the canvas bulbs out , get caught between the scicors/mechanism and you keep lowering the roof fully .....
It ending up damaging the roof itself , as it is alu and pretty soft it can give a bump in the edge of the roof ....and a gap between roof and vehicle.
Guess the company Philosan is refering to is specialised in getting those bumps to dissapaer , suppose heating the spot and pushing it back in it's original place.

blondebier · Oct 7, 2015

I guess that's why a bungee is so important. I'll make sure I order one of those.

It doesn't sound like it helped here though.

WelshGas · Oct 7, 2015

The Bungee helps but you MUST have a door or window, at least, open on the DOWNWIND side. If gusty wind then I tend to open both front doors.

Martin · Oct 7, 2015

I lost count of the amount of Cali's at COTF that had the crease in the roof, quite a few people had not even noticed it until I pointed it out. It is a very easy job for dent doctors as they can get to both sides of the panel so £50 is about right.

As we say to everyone, the bungee is not a 100% guarantee that the bellows will not get caught but it does help fold it in and reduce the risk.

Must be doing something right as the shop has sold quite a few to VW !!

'

blondebier · Oct 7, 2015

Thanks guys. I'll be sure to order one of those and take extra care when doing it. Thanks for the tip!

Hotel California · Oct 7, 2015

A "crease " as Martin calls it ( my Englisch is not that good ) or a dent , bump, ...
Can also be caused by someting lieing in the waterdrain , for instance some leaves , a acorn ( had to google for this

) from oak trees , ....
If spending some time roof up under trees check this before closing!

cpjb@btinternet.com · Oct 7, 2015

If you make sure the window zips are closed facing the front of the van, you can pop your head through the hatch , and tug them in as the roof is lowered with the other hand. It seems fool proof to me, and doesn't require someone walking round the van to check as you lower the roof.

Works for me anyway, even in very windy situations.

mikeringrose · Oct 7, 2015

The bungee is a good safety measure but beware, the bungee loses it sketchiness after a year or so and it will need replacing.

Tactical · Oct 17, 2015

hotel california T5 said:
Can also be caused by someting lieing in the waterdrain, for instance some leaves, a acorn from oak trees, ....

Or in our case, the item that had fallen into the roof channel causing the roof to bend was the small rubber buffer that normally lives in the front roof strut.

The buffer on the other side of the roof was also absent. Since then I have seen several other people's Californias with one or both buffers missing, so it seems to be a common fault.

The buffers were replaced and the roof straightened under warranty. The new buffers are a different shape, so it appears that VW have redesigned them (sometime after mid-2014), hopefully to stop them falling out.

Hotel California · Oct 17, 2015

Yep , that could be enough to damage the roof.
Someone mentiont here that rubber is sometimes missing ....
Have to check mine next time roofs up , tkx for the reminder!